Laser scanning finds many uses in the area of information handling, and is finding applications that were only partially anticipated twenty years ago. These include non-impact printing, color imaging, digitizing, marking, range finding, laser radar, phototypesetting, electronic mail, bar code reading, optical inspection, optical character recognition, robotic vision and quality control.
Most scanning systems are mechanical, utilizing a motor to rotate a mirror, prism, or holographic grating. Mechanical scanners have generally demonstrated good performance, but they are relatively large and massive. The large inertia of such systems could make their performance sensitive to accelerations.
Acousto-optic beam scanners are also available. However, with a fixed position of the input beam to such a scanner, the obtainable output beam deflection angles are very limited. Acousto-optic deflectors also have limited resolution.
Thus, there is a need for a solid state scanning device which would offer the benefits of reduced size and mass, no moving parts, improved reliability, low cost and low power requirement. A solid state laser scanning device of small size, mass, power requirement, and cost would not only be an attractive replacement for mechanical and acousto-optic systems, but would also make possible many more applications.